PRIMES: Nihal Gowravaram's Story

Like many other PRIMES students, I’ve always had an
affinity for math. As a young child, I always loved playing
around with numbers and discovering new things. But, as I
grew older, this exploration was replaced by something more
concrete: competitions. Initially, I embraced competitions,
as it gave me the chance to challenge myself beyond the
classroom curriculum and form friendships with other
competitors. But, as time went on, I grew unsatisfied.
Though math competitions were integral in developing my
skills, I felt that math could not be confined to doing “x”
problems in “y” minutes. I wished to rekindle the sense of
exploration towards math that I had when I was younger: my
answer was PRIMES.

At first, I was skeptical; how could I, a high school
sophomore, conduct mathematical research? Soon, however,
PRIMES made me realize that this goal was not out of sight.
Working with my brilliant mentor Dr. Joel Brewster Lewis, I
began an extensive study of pattern avoidance, a branch of
combinatorics, with my research partner
Ravi Jagadeesan. Though at
first I was intimidated by some of the background reading,
with reassurance from my mentor, I continued to persist
onwards, reading a single paper dozens of times for hours or
even days. Similarly, PRIMES taught me patience. Through
math competitions, I had always expected to get an immediate
“Aha” moment to lead me to the correct solution/answer. Yet,
math research problems are not engineered like competition
problems, and so, I initially found myself frustrated.
However, I soon learned to grow patient, as the process of
mathematical inquiry itself grew to satisfy me, and that
eventual “Aha” moment was all the more satisfying.

Thus, upon writing our paper, I had an immense feeling of
satisfaction, not only because I had written a paper and
conducted original math research, but also because I had
rediscovered my childhood interest in math as a process of
discovery. PRIMES has provided me with a new outlook on
mathematics and has fostered my desire to continue with math
research. Thank you, PRIMES!

If you’re a high school student who loves math, applying
to PRIMES will be the best decision of your life.